In 2017, soon after Firstborn released, I met with my publisher in New York to talk about what was next. I had a short list of favorite story concepts—the idea of a cult escapee starting over and a pandemic rising from the permafrost (an idea straight from the headlines) among six or seven others. My publisher said, “I like both of those. I think you should put them together!”

It worked out very well! I wish I could take credit for the combination, but it was my publisher’s idea.

How did you come up with the title?

There is this theme through the book about crossing lines from one life, or one realm, into another. It’s also about the thin line between so many things including sanity and madness, faith and apostasy, safety and danger.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

There are certainly themes built into each of my books—in this case, climate change, sexual harassment, and leaps of faith. But what I hope readers will take from my books is always first and foremost a great experience and engrossing journey—the escape we turn to fiction for.

How much of the book is realistic?

I’ve been told it’s frighteningly realistic, due mostly to the fact that it’s inspired by real events—a disease re-emerging from the permafrost, and a cyber attack on the electrical grid. I left details about these events in my author’s note at the end for those interested.

Are your characters based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

Except for a couple small cameos I gave my dad, sister, and I in my first novel, DEMON, they’re all fictional. I name characters after people I know, fans, and family sometimes, though. The main character in THE LINE BETWEEN, Wynter, is named after my step-daughter.

Where can readers find you on social media and do you have a blog?

Yes! I’ve got a blog on my website at toscalee.com, which is also where you can find links to my social media and my newsletter, including my newsletter just for writers.

Do you have plans or ideas for your next book? Is it a sequel or a stand alone?

The sequel, A SINGLE LIGHT releases this September and picks up right where THE LINE BETWEEN ends. It comes out September 17, and is up for pre-order now!

Of the characters you have created or envisioned, which is your favorite & why?

There’s a character in A SINGLE LIGHT who is one of my favourite characters I’ve ever written. He’s sweet, quirky, and often hilarious. I can’t wait to introduce him to the world!

Do you favor one type of genre or do you dabble in more than one?

I write thrillers, some of which are slightly supernatural, some dystopian books, and historical novels.

Do you plan your stories, or are you a seat of the pants style writer?

I have to have at least a loose outline. I learned that the hard way.

What is your best marketing tip?

Do the parts that are most interesting to you and keep it fun.

Do you find social media a great tool or a hindrance?

Both. It’s great for staying in touch with readers and sharing updates. But it’s very time-consuming!

OPTIONAL QUESTIONS

What do you enjoy most about writing?

Being able to set my own schedule and write in my pajamas!

What age did you start writing stories/poems?

Third grade.

What genre are you currently reading?

Thrillers.

Do you read for pleasure or research or both?

Both.

Who is your best supporter/mentor/encourager?

My husband.

Do you see writing as a career?

I write full-time. When people ask me about how I stay motivated the answer is easy: I like to eat. 😀

Do you nibble as you write? If so what’s your favorite snack food?

Cheetos and buttered popcorn! Neither one is good for keyboards.

What reward do you give yourself for making a deadline?

I clean closets. That probably doesn’t sound like a reward, but I find it very therapeutic.

Bio:

Tosca Lee is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of ten novels including THE LINE BETWEEN, THE PROGENY, FIRSTBORN, THE LEGEND OF SHEBA, ISCARIOT, and the Books of Mortals series with New York Times bestseller Ted Dekker. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages and been optioned for TV and film. A notorious night-owl, she loves movies, playing football with her kids, and sending cheesy texts to her husband.

You can find Tosca at ToscaLee.com, on social media, or hanging around the snack table. A SINGLE LIGHT, Tosca’s highly-anticipated sequel to THE LINE BETWEEN, releases September 2019 and is available for preorder now.

About THE LINE BETWEEN:

In this frighteningly believable thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tosca Lee, an extinct disease re-emerges from the melting Alaskan permafrost to cause madness in its victims. For recent apocalyptic cult escapee Wynter Roth, it’s the end she’d always been told was coming.

When Wynter Roth is turned out of New Earth, a self-contained doomsday cult on the American prairie, she emerges into a world poised on the brink of madness as a mysterious outbreak of rapid early onset dementia spreads across the nation.

As Wynter struggles to start over in a world she’s been taught to regard as evil, she finds herself face-to-face with the apocalypse she’s feared all her life—until the night her sister shows up at her doorstep with a set of medical samples. That night, Wynter learns there’s something far more sinister at play and that these samples are key to understanding the disease.

Now, as the power grid fails and the nation descends into chaos, Wynter must find a way to get the samples to a lab in Colorado. Uncertain who to trust, she takes up with former military man Chase Miller, who has his own reasons for wanting to get close to the samples in her possession, and to Wynter herself.

Filled with action, conspiracy, romance, and questions of whom—and what—to believe, The Line Between is a high-octane story of survival and love in a world on the brink of madness.